Walking in someone else’s shoes
Recently, I did a marathon.
No, not the 26.2 mile sort. Instead, I went on a TED marathon . . . as in getting mesmerized online for hours and hours by videos from the TED Conferences (Technology, Entertainment, and Design, though their motto of “Ideas Worth Spreading” says it better).
I was particularly struck by two speeches: that of J. R. Rowling – author of Harry Potter – at the Harvard Commencement, and that of Karen Armstrong – comparative religion scholar and initiator of “Charter of Compassion.” Both of these outstanding women touched on one essential point – IMAGINATION.
You might assume they were referring to using imagination to access creativity or spirituality. But they each referred to what Karen called “the imaginative act of putting oneself in the place of another.” In other words, exercise your imagination by having compassion and empathy. What a novel idea.
We allow our imaginations to take us many places: to daydream about vacations in Hawaii, to invent one-of-a-kind art and poetry, to outline a new action plan for a community campaign. All of these are excellent uses of the gift we each possess to imagine, to dream, and to believe in possibilities.
While J.R. Rowling speaks of putting ourselves in the place of those suffering in the world, I also offer this: What kind of world would it be if we each imagined walking in the shoes of someone we find challenging? Someone for whom we currently lack understanding? Someone we imagine we aren’t capable of loving?
Can we find that place inside – the heart of optimism – that believes everyone has light within them? If your answer is no, that’s okay. You can use your imagination to do so! It may take practice, but you will be practicing more than using your “imagination.” You will be practicing creating a better world.